4 minute read
The Haunting of Huard Manor
BY FRANCESCA PACCHIANO
There are many “scary” haunted houses and supposedly “creepy” decorations that will leave you feeling disappointed, but Huard’s Haunted House is not one of them. The haunted house has been a tradition in Cassidy for the last thirteen years and is known for bringing psychological terrors that will make you wet yourself. You have been warned. The haunted house is the pride and joy of Shandra Huard and her husband, Lionel Hubert. Each year, they design a new theme, layout, and scares designed to frighten you to your very core. The team of volunteers — affectionately called “the Boo Crew,” who delight and terrify patrons — are at the heart of this haunted house’s success.
“We’ve had anywhere between 15 to 30 volunteers a night that we’re open. I do have a core Boo Crew that we’re in contact with the entire year, and they’ve come out, and we’ve had a couple groups come out and help build this year.” The Boo Crew and building volunteers are of all ages, from five to eighty. They’re not trained actors, but they want to participate.
This year’s theme is a haunted mansion. “It’s thirteen rooms. Each room will unnerve you one way or another. And a lot of times, it’s as scary as you want it to be. If you have fears, we will pull ’em out of you. If you don’t think you have them, we’ll find them.” The Huards’ haunted houses have been known to terrify to a point of a bodily reaction with thirty-one code YELLOWS, seven code BROWNS, and, new as of last year, two code EXORCISTS.
This intensity has led to Huard putting restrictions on who can and cannot enter the haunted house. “We take pride in making grown men pee themselves. We do not take pride in terrorizing children… One parent actually said to me, ‘We wanna toughen our kid up.’ And [I said], ‘No, that’s called abuse.’ We don’t scare children to toughen them up. We show them how to face their fears in a nice way.”
Additionally, Huard’s Haunted House does not allow intoxication of any kind on the property for the safety of the volunteers and the all attendees. “We have minors in our line up and in our haunt.” You must be 10 or older to enter.
“I’ve always loved Halloween. I loved spooky; I liked psychological thrillers. Not so much the horror movies that are blood and gore, but the psychological horror movies — the ones that have you on your edge of the seat, not knowing what’s gonna happen next.” This love of Halloween quickly turned into a deep love and fascination with the production of a haunted house for Huard. “And then I found out about the theatrical side of it. The makeup, the sets, the lights, the sound… how everything together can create an atmosphere.”
The Huard’s Haunted House is open for thirteen nights, October 16 to 20, 23 to 26, and 28 to 31. All nights go from six to ten. Huard noted to arrive early, as they do cut off the line if it gets too long later in the evening. “We close the doors at ten because we do have neighbours. Don’t come at quarter to nine expecting to come in when there’s still a lineup.”
While this annual tradition does create a lot of excitement for the team who puts it on and those who attend, it’s not just about the experience. “This money does go to our youth groups, our charities, food banks… The more that people give, the more we can give out. We wanna make sure the community stays strong, and the more people we can have come through our doors, the more people we can help.”
