Spooky spaces

Spooktacular Neighbours!

irdrians love Halloween and last year every-

Aone upped their game to give kids (and kids at heart) an escape from reality. Last fall we sent photographer Sergei Belski out to explore and his (then) eight-year-old son Oliver provided us with some good insight.

This year watch for the most decked-out Halloween homes by checking our interactive Halloween map at airdrielife.com and following our social feeds! If you have a spooktacular home we should feature, email katie@frogmediainc.ca

The Windsong Pirate House (Windridge Road)

“This was a really cool place. I loved how they had a lot of bones, some in cages like there was a story to tell. I loved how they had so many pirate jewels and gold, like they were robbers. I loved that they had a full pirate ship and they all dressed up as pirates, too. The dungeon feel with pretend flames looked really cool. And the different lighting in different areas made it all look great. Definitely amazing place to go see!”

Editor’s note: The Windsong Pirate House owners sold their home in early 2021 and moved to California, but fear not, all the pirate decor was purchased by the McGillivray family on Reunion Boulevard and they are adding it to their big display. Last year the pirate attraction reported 532 kids on Halloween night and they collected more than 400 lbs of food for the Airdrie Food Bank. The McGillivrays spend months preparing and also take donations for the Airdrie Food Bank.

The Haunted House (Cooper’s Drive)

“This haunted house was pretty cool. The talking witch out front was really scary; we really thought it was going to give us nightmares. The tent and maze walkway was really neat. There was a mix of pretend people and real people dressed up, and you never knew which; they just came up out of nowhere! I loved the light-up cauldron and spells books, and the mirror that could change. The fog machine really added to the cool lights and sounds. I loved how all the fake witches all moved and lit up. I definitely recommend people go and visit this haunted house … I went through a few times and it was just as much fun, and I saw more details the second and third times! “

Owner of the Haunted House Erin Huta has always loved Halloween, but she took it to the next level in 2020 as a way to bring some much-needed fun to local kids’ lives.

“The last couple of years were so hard for kids; they missed out on so much because of COVID during the pandemic and we had to cancel a long-awaited family vacation, so we redirected that money into Halloween,” she says.

It took her and a friend a month to set up the terrifying tents in her backyard that included everything from a coffin and cauldron to a magic mirror.

The huge Haunted Horror House included demonic displays in three tents, Huta’s garage, the front yard and porch.

The tortuous tours of the alarming attraction started four days before Halloween and the family welcomed more than 1,700 visitors into their creepy chambers.

Huta says she is currently working on figuring out a theme for this year’s spooky spectacle but hopes it will be even more ghoulish and ghastly. life

“I loved how they had a lot of bones, some in cages like there was a story to tell”